UCLA
11-4,2-2Big Ten
Michigan
12-3,4-0Big Ten
No. 22 UCLA Falls to No. 24 Michigan, 94-75
January 07, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 22 UCLA men's basketball program fell to No. 24 Michigan, 94-75, in a Big Ten matchup inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Tuesday night.
The Bruins (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 2 of 20 attempts from 3-point range. UCLA posted an overall shooting percentage of 41.7 on Tuesday evening.
UCLA fell behind early, trailing by a 13-2 margin just minutes into the game and by as many as 18 points (37-19) with 5:30 to play in the opening half. The Bruins battled back, cutting Michigan's advantage to 10 points, at 47-37, by halftime.
UCLA opened the second half on an 18-4 scoring run – through the first six minutes – to secure a 55-51 cushion. From that point in the game, Michigan (12-3, 4-0 Big Ten) battled back and took a 63-61 lead with 10:10 to play. The visiting Wolverines never trailed against UCLA in the final 10 minutes.
Tyler Bilodeau and Sebastian Mack paced UCLA's offense with 17 points each. Bilodeau connected on eight of his 13 shot attempts, while Mack finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tuesday night's double-digit scoring performance was Bilodeau's 11th of the season.
Two other Bruins finished in double figures, as Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 13 points and Kobe Johnson had 12 points. Johnson was 7-for-10 at the free throw stripe. As a team, UCLA shot 68 percent at the free throw line, knocking down 23 of 34 free throw attempts.
Vladislav Goldin paced the Wolverines with 36 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the field. That marked the first time in which UCLA surrendered 36 or more points in a game to any opposing player since Jahmir Young tallied 37 points in Pauley Pavilion, for Maryland, on Dec. 22, 2023.
UCLA's defense forecd three turnovers in the game's opening three minutes. However, the offense struggled on the other end, and Michigan secured a 13-2 advantage after the first five minutes.
After the Bruins had trailed by 18 points in the first half, UCLA chipped away. Mack hit an and-one opportunity with 1:38 to play before the intermission, cutting the Bruins' deficit to just 11 points. He capped off the first half with one other free throw to shave Michigan's advantage to just 10 points, at 47-37, by halftime.
Through the first half, the Wolverines shot 68 percent from the field and were 8-for-13 from behind the 3-point arc, while the Bruins shot 44 percent from the field and missed all eight 3-point attempts.
The Bruins picked up the pace early in the second half, cutting Michigan's lead from 10 points to five when Bilodeau hit a 3-pointer. Kobe Johnson got the Pauley Pavilion crowd on its feet, just one possession later, burying a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a one-possession game (51-48, with 16:33 to play).
UCLA secured its first lead of the night with 14:17 to play in regulation, following the 18-4 scoring run. The Bruins forced a turnover in transition before Dailey Jr. crashed the boards and earned the offensive rebound before laying the ball back in. That sequence put UCLA on top, 52-51. Andrews picked a pass off on the ensuing Wolverine possession before finding Dailey Jr., who finished through contact and went to the line to complete the three-point play. Dailey Jr.'s effort helped send UCLA ahead, 55-51, with 14:12 remaining.
The Wolverines responded with a run of their own after the Bruins took their first lead of the contest and limited the Bruins to free throws offensively for over six minutes of game time. Michigan had re-established a double-digit cushion, going up 12 points (76-64) with 7:23 to play.
Michigan never gave up the lead over the final seven minutes of action and finished the game shooting 62 percent from the field, en route to a 94-75 win in Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA returns to action on Friday night at Maryland. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (PT), as the Bruins' game will be televised on FOX. The Bruins will be in action at Maryland on Friday and at Rutgers on Monday, Jan. 13.
